Monday, 16 September 2013

Michael Mashburn (Jules Sciero) and his former Lieutenant, Antwan Mercer (Bob Glazier) shelter themeselves from the world to make a new begiining. They start by abducting young men and women and torture them for their own amusement. Their victims will be treated to the most vial and heinous manners you can ever imagine. Some of them they will keep and force them to join their army, but most will all die a slow and horrible death. Watch a video diary of a madman where you will not only hear about these vicious crimes, you will actually watch them as they happen. Amerikan Holokaust is written by John Miller and Chris Woods who also is the director. The acting is pretty decent for the most part but I must say that lead actors Jules Sciero and Bob Glazier are very good. The camerawork ranges from shaky cam to static (this is a found footage flick), the editing is good. The soundtrack and pacing is good. The setting feels limited even if scenes do take place in different places/rooms. The very limited budget is evident some scenes but that is not necessarily a negative thing, actually it helps and lets face it this is ain´t movie where we expect high production values, huge sets and so on. There´s a strong sense of tension and dread throughout, even if we never really get too know the victims we see and feel for them as they are the target for unbelievable amounts of degradation and sadism, I don´t want to deliever spoilers but this flick is NOT for the squemish. Amerikan Holokaust is gory and it´s good looking practical fx. Some examples of the on screen carnage is plucking out the eyes of a victim and eating them and scenes of cannibalism. As you understand by those examples this is a graphic flick but first and foremost there is a strong overwhelming tone of brutality and nastiness. There´s some truly sick stuff on screen. There´s both gratuitous female and male nudity in this, including gratuitous full frontal and there is sex, there´s a threesome as Michael and Antwan picks up a hooker. This review is based upon the region all (region 0) DVD release from The Sleaze BoxRating: 5½ out of 7. Disturbing, sleazy, vicious and graphic Amerikan Holokaust certainly isn´t for the squemish or for rookies in the horror genre. It´s in the same territory of extreme movies such as the August Underground trilogy and Scrapbook. If you´re a fan of extreme movies then this flick should be your next buy! Support true independent film making, go get it! /JL

Wednesday, 11 September 2013

First I´d like to thank Brain Damage Films for providing me with a screener.Three years have passed since the zombie war had been won but for the veterans who fought in that terrible conflict, their memories and pain won't let them forget. Now the only three surviving veterans of the most brutal battle of the entire war (Gory Ridge) return to recount their horrific experiences to an author who intends to write a book so that the world may better understand the sacrifice of the American infantryman during the great zombie war. It is a story of horror, honor, sacrifice, and brotherhood. This is war, scars and all. Ridge War Z is written and directed by Alek Gearhart. The acting is decent, the camerawork and editing is pretty good. The soundtrack is very good. The setting is nice and very different from most of the zombie movies I´ve seen. Ridge War Z is very talky och slow with not much happening for most of the running time. There´s brief practical gore, there are however plenty of computer rendered bullet hits. The zombie make-up fx design is poor. There´s no T and A in this.Ridge War Z is also known as Gory Ridge.Ridge War Z is being released on region all (region 0) DVD on 11/5/2013 by Brain Damage Films.This review is based upon an passwordprotected online screener provided by Brain Damage Films.Rating: 1 out of 7. Ridge War Z is something of a missed opportunity, the concept is grander than the final product. I can easily imagine that the script being very ambitious from the beginning and being gradually scaled down due to the budget. It´s slow and very talky which makes it boring. When things finally starts happening it is too late and the action just isn´t very impressive. While watching it I couldn´t help wonder how it could have looked with nice looking half decomposed zombies and practical gore (just take a look at what Brian Paulin at Morbid Vision Films can do with limited funds). Thank god that they used another title, had they kept the original title Gory Ridge I would have been really insulted/annoyed as a gorehound. The two best parts with this is the DVD cover art and the soundtrack. If you go in looking for action, gore and zombies you most likely are gonna end up just as disappointed as me. /JL

Ex-undercover cop turned biker Rane (John Fallon) witnesses the brutal murder of his pregnant wife Jamie (Anna Jaeger) by his crew who have learned about his old policemen days. Shot through the head with a crossbow and dumped into a canal, Rane is believed to be dead... but he miraculously survives the ordeal. Upon his exit from the hospital, he teams up with his old crime buddy Kersey (Deke Richards), arms himself to the teeth, and goes on a drug fueled, psychotic rampage.. Deaden is written by John Fallon and Christian Viel who also is the director. The acting is pretty good especially from John Fallon who´s character seems to run on hatred and drugs, the camerawork and editing is good. The soundtrack is good. They don´t waste any time in this, the pace is fast and furious in Deaden. There´s a lot of action, gunplay and fight scenes. The fight choreography is good, the shoot outs are pretty decent but the flick compensates a lot of this by being politically incorrect and ruthless. On the topic of ruthless, the attack on Jamie (Anna Jaeger) is very nasty, cruel and over the top as she´s first raped by the leader, then a female gang member uses a baseball bat to rape her in a prolonged scene and after that they cut out the baby out of her womb. All this takes place in front of Rane so it isn´t hard to understand that he wants to kill them all. There´s some gore, mainly in the form of gory squibs. There´s topless nudity and a couple of soft sex scenes in flashbacks as Rane remembers his life with Jamie.This review is based upon the region all (region 0) unrated limited collector´s edition released by Movieseals Productions and Joblo Media Inc.Rating: 6½ out of 7. Deaden is ultraviolent and vicious, it´s obvious that John Fallon and Christian Viel knows and loves the vigilante genre. If you are a fan och independent action or a fan or the vigilante genre you need to watch Deaden! It´s a must buy! /JL

Tuesday, 10 September 2013

A biological disaster in a secret goverment lab unleashes a hellstorm of fury in this heart-stopping follow-up from the makers of Humans Versus Zombies. Now, this unfortunate group of scientists will learn that death is for the lucky as they witness the horrific transformation of their colleagues into ravaging, blod-thirsty savages. Will the scientists succeed in exposing the government's cover up, or better yet, will any of them manage to make it out alive? Patient Zero is written and directed by Brian T. Jaynes. The acting is good, it´s professionally shot and edited. I really like the setting, the cold laboratory and corridors. The soundtrack is good. The pace is a bit slow at first but it kicks off pretty soon and after that it´s a fun and entertaining ride with tension and some effective scares. Now this flick is not a zombie movie instead it´s more in the territory of the crazy savages of Danny Boyle´s 28 Days Later. I like the fact that the tactical team that arrives on scene actually acts like they know what they´re doing and have the proper equipment and weaponry. There´s brief gore in this, practical make-up fx. Sure as a flick Patient Zero is pretty violent but it isn´t overtly graphic, it actually feels a bit restrained as there are without a doubt several scenes that could have been gorier. The lack of gore could be a artistic choice or due to the limitations of the budget. There´s no T and A in this.Patient Zero is also known as: Biohazard: Patient Zero.This review is based upon the region 1 DVD release from Hannover House.Rating: 6 out of 7. I liked this a lot and Patient Zero delievers on many levels but I must say that more on screen gore would have greatly benefited the flick, sure it´s pretty violent but it lacks that punch that graphic gore provides. /JL

Monday, 9 September 2013

How far can a man be pushed before he snaps? The staff of Logan Online Publishing finds out on one terrifying night in the office. On the day Matt McClaine gets fired, he exacts his bloody revenge on anyone unlucky enough to be working late. From his superiors to his co-workers no one will be spared Matt's enraged quest for justice. In the case of this online publishing company, firing one disgruntled person means having to re-staff an entire office. Disgruntled is written by Jake Jarvi and John Conatser who also is the director. The acting is good, it´s nicely shot and edited. The soundtrack is good. The pacing is good and the film makers make the most of the limited running time, it clocks in just across the one hour mark. The look of Matt McClaine as he returns to his workplace is actually quite simple but very effective, that´s one creepy mask that he´s wearing. Make no doubt about it, Disgruntled is violent, Matt McClaine is one very angry and violent man, and it is quite bloody BUT it isn´t too graphic, actually they only go all in in a few scenes but as usual I won´t go into details due to spoilers.There´s no T and A in this but Catherine Warren ( Miss Illinois 2006) has a small role as a model and shows off her body wearing only her underwear.This review is based upon the region 1 DVD release from Meadowdale Pictures, according to Amazon.com it is a region all release and is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media but I haven´t tried to watch it on my Blu-ray (which is region 2).Rating 5½ out of 7. Disgruntled is a very nice surprise, I didn´t know much about it beforehand. The pacing is good, there are some suspenseful scenes, some gore, a decent bodycount, it´s well made, well acted so what not to like?/JL

A typical camping nightmare, filled with murders, screams and of course a crazed lunatic lurking in the woods. In an old mill town called Dark Shade Creek, a blood thirsty legend will stop at nothing until he takes the lives of those foolish enough to enter his wilderness. When a murder plot involving LSD goes horribly wrong at the local saw mill, the legend is born. The local people of the town say there are uncountable missing persons and bodies that have been found in the area all through the seasons. Years later, this mind altered maniac continues his rampage once again on some out of town kids on a weekend getaway. There's no place to run... There's no place to hide... Dark Shade Creek is written by Joshua Mankey and David Mankey who also is the director. The acting ranges from so and so to pretty bad. Special kudos to Ashleigh Mankey who dones a good job and she actually looks like the teen she´s intended to portray. The camerawork and editing is decent. The pacing is pretty decent but some scenes feel like poor attempts to padd out the running time. The soundtrack is decent, but the rock n roll parts felt kinda misplaced in some parts. The look of the killer is pretty cool. There are both on and off screen kills, Dark Shade Creek does get more graphic as the bodycount starts building up. The make-up fx is done on a shoestring budget and it shows. There´s no T and A in this.This review is based upon a DVD-R from Dark Shade Films which is manufactured on demand when ordered from Amazon.com.Rating: 2 out of 7. Dark Shade Creek is a pretty okay slasher if you´re a die hard fan of the genre, there are some nice moments and a few which are very good but I found the flick to be a bit slow in parts and lacking in some areas. That said this is isn´t the worst slasher out there, there are far worse flicks out there. Check out if you´re a die hard fan of the slasher genre. /JL

Sunday, 8 September 2013

A night of alcohol, sex, drugs and partying in the Hollywood hills is the perfect setting for Serina's (Elizabeth Di Prinzio) 18th birthday party - until this high school party goes horribly wrong when an uninvited guest begins killing them one by one. The Devil Within is written by Matt Dead and is directed by Tom Hardy. The acting is good but special praise goes to Bill Oberst Jr. who yet again does wonders on the screen as Principal Edwards. It´s professionally shot and edited and it is a good looking flick. The soundtrack is good, the pacing is very good. The Devil Within is played straight but there are a little bit of comic relief in the form of two young male characters. There are a few twists and turns and the unpredicability is just one of the factors which makes this a succesful slasher. The kills are brutal and are beautifully staged/shot. The gore is all practical make-up fx but and I don´t why but I kinda expected this flick too be a bit gorier. There´s some T and A and some sex. There´s sleaze, a father having an unhealthy interest in his daughter and some more stuff but I don´t want to give anything away.This review is based upon the region all (region 0) DVD release from Seminal Films.Rating: 6½ out of 7. The Devil Within is a really nice contribution to the slasher genre, not as predictable as many of the slashers are and the kills are suitably brutal. I cant finish this review without mentioning Bill Obert Jr. once more, he is without a doubt one of the most reliable actors in independent horror right now. He´s amazingly skilled and talented and I hope we will seeing much more of him in the future./JL

Thanatomorphose is a french word meaning the visible signs of an organism's decomposition caused by death. One day, a young and beautiful girl (Kayden Rose) a wakes up and finds her flesh rotting. Thanatomorphose is written by Éric Falardeau. The acting is solid from the whole cast, special kudos to Kayden Rose. Thanatomorphose is a very good looking movie being professionally shot and edited. The soundtrack is very good. It´s a arthouse independent horror flick which means that it might not appeal to everyone, for instance the pace is slow, almost too slow in some parts but in my opinion it sets the mood prefectly as this is a slow trip through anguish and decay and trust me, this trip is not for the squemish. There´s gore and and a lot of make-up fx as we see the Kayden Rose´s character slowly rotting away in front of us, not just physically but also mentally. There are also some on screen kills but I do not want to go into any details due to the risk of spoilers. Let´s just say that the make-up fx in this is top notch! There`s gratuitous nudity in this, including both male and female full frontal. There are several sex scenes and scenes of masturbation. There´s a scene of oral sex that is pretty nasty, it´s not gory or graphic but you´ll see what I mean.This review is based upon the region 0 (region all) limited release from Thantofilms it´s signed by Kayden Rose, Davyd Tousignant, Emile Beaudry and Éric Falardeau is and numbered 78 of a limited release of 100 copies. English and french subtitles are available.Rating: 7 out of 7. I was fascinated by this flick and couldn´t take my eyes of the screen, I haven´t seen such bodily decay/horror on screen since David Cronenberg´s The Fly. This is a solid arthouse horror flick, I´m eager to see more of Éric Falardeau and thankfully they included a DVD-R with short movies with the DVD. Thanatomorphose gets my highest recommendations!!/JL

Friday, 6 September 2013

First I´d like to thank Henry Li for contacting me and providing me with a screener.When his wife cracks open a fortune cookie that prophesizes her death in four days, a pro-life doctor must solve the mystery behind the fortune before it's too late. Fortune Cookie Prophecies is written and directed by Henry Li. The acting is good, the camerawork and editing is good. The soundtrack is really nice! As you understand the productions values are good. The pace is actually decent but yet it feels slow as there isn´t much happening for large parts of the flick or at least it felt that way to . A slow pace isn´t necessarily a bad thing, I have nothing against slow burners but there needs to be more satisfying rewards/pay offs. Now on the topic of pay offs, there´s no gore in this, okay it´s a movie about ghosts/spirits but I would have liked to see some gore, some gruesome kills (yup, it´s the gorehound in me complaining) as just because there are ghosts/spritits that doesn´t have to exclude the graphic red stuff. There´s no T and A in this.This review is based upon a online screener provided by Henry Li.Rating: 4½ out of 7. Fortune Cookie Prophecies isn´t bad it´s just a bit uneven and there are some very nice scenes in this, some suspenseful and scary scenes but unfortunately there aren´t that many of them. As a gorehound I was disappointed but I know that there are planty of people out there who prefer their movies not being to graphic. That said I must point out that the production values are good and the concept is very nice. Recommended to fans of the supernatural/ghosts genre./JL

Thursday, 5 September 2013

When seven girls have a costume party at an old abandoned house what could go wrong? Slice is written and directed by Terence Muncy. Dreadfully bad acting, it´s badly shot and edited. The pacing is bad, after a kick start it seems takes forever for things to happen, we get a prolonged party in a scene that seems to last forever. There isn´t a shred of suspense or tension in this, I just waited impatiently for it to end. Slice is one of those flicks that has been manipulated to make it look old and scratchy (in the style of Grindhouse), there are a ton of trailers (both real and faux) before the flick and those trailers are included in the official running time of Slice. There are several scenes that feels like attempts of padding out the running time. There is a surprise twist which actually isn´t that big of a surprise... The soundtrack is either missplaced or bad. There are some hints of sleaze, incest, but it´s only touched upon briefly in a scene as one of the characters speak about it. There is no T and A in this but there is prolonged girl on girl action. There´s some practical gore fx, a on screen throat slashing and cannibalism but most of the stuff is kept off screen.This review is based upon a region 0 (region all) DVD-R manufactured on demand by Warbranch Productions.Rating: 0 out of 7. OMG this was bad, really frickin bad!! Stay away, just stay away.... /JL

Tuesday, 3 September 2013

Bruce Seagal (Bill Johns) is an ex-Special Forces agent turned brilliant scientist. When an envious co-worker tries to ruin his career, Seagal leaps into action. Dodging death at every turn, he reveals startling secrets from the past, and exacts a deadly revenge against those who dared to betray him! The Decapitator is written and directed by Floyd Jones. Oh boy, where do I begin? The acting is atrociously bad, it´s badly shot and edited. The soundtrack is decent. Even if the running time is just 39 minutes it feels overlong and boring. The Decapitator is being sold as horror on Amazon and when you look at the DVD cover you might expect it to belong to that genre but this a action flick and a very bad one at that but I actually began wondering if it might be an attempt to do a comedy/spoof of Steven Seagal´s movies. There are quite a few connections/references to Steven Seagal´s flicks, for instance Bruce background isn´t known to his co-workers, the dialogue which is meant to imply how bad ass the Bruce charater is are obviously inspired (if not ripped off) from Steven Seagal´s flicks and so on, and then there is the VERY obvious thing that Bruce´s surname is Seagal. For an action flick, with a running time of 39 minutes, there isn´t very much action on screen. There are a two incredibly cheap flashbacks to Bruce´s time in the special forces, the fight choreography is piss-poor. There is the obligatory training montage, which made me laugh out loud due to being so poorly made. There is no gore, which is kinda strange as there is a on screen beheading but there ain´t a single drop of blood, actually the scene looks like shit, besides that all other kills are off screen. It´s kind of a shame as Bruce´s weapon of choice is a big ax which could have given us some really good and gory kills. There is no T and A in thisThis review is based upon a DVD-R which is manufactured on demand when ordered from Amazon.com.Rating: 0 out of 7. The Decapitator is a truly painful viewing experience, I can´t find anything redeeming about this flick. Avoid like the plague! /JL

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About Me

I´ll be reviewing Independent Flicks from far and beyond. All the films that are reviewed are in my collection and are original DVD´s.
To submit materials for review please email me for the address: independentflicks@hotmail.com